A Fine Line
by forensicduck
Summary: When Joe starts falling for someone, Mel realizes that there's a fine line between repulsion and…love? chapter 2 up!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: A Fine Line  
Author's Note: Contributing because I don't think there's enough Melissa & Joey fanfiction on here. I can never think of a good title, by the way.  
Summary: When Joe starts falling for someone, Mel realizes that there's a fine line between repulsion and…love?  
Rating: T for minor language. Like, two words. That's it.**

* * *

It was a busy Saturday night for Melissa Burke. Her nephew Ryder had won a writing contest and the ceremony was tonight, so he was rushing to gather every one so they could leave in time. But Mel just returned from a meeting and she insisted that she needed to clean herself up before going back into the public.

She entered the living room and shot past Ryder. 'I'm just going to take a quick shower.' Mel shouted back to him, and the boy's annoyed – and extremely exaggerated – sigh was not missed on the Councilwoman.

She slipped into her bathroom and locked the door behind her. It took her only a few seconds to slip out of her pants suit, but she hesitated taking off her underwear. She always had to take a minute to take a look at herself in the mirror and note it whenever there was something she needed to take care of, like too much of a belly, or cellulites. _Not bad, Mel. Today must be a good day. To be single and not have a fuck buddy. _She grinned at her use of words. _Did I just really say 'fuck buddy'? _She twirled in front of the mirror to get a good look at herself from the front to the side and the back. _Whatever. I know I want it._

A thought crossed her mind. _No, don't do that. You're being silly. Why would you even want to see that? _She contemplated her options as her gaze fell to her closed curtains. _Besides, it's not like he's working out 24/7. It sure looks like he does, though… _Mel inwardly cursed at herself and shook her head. _No, don't do it. You're in no way attracted to Joe, so I don't see any reason why you would want to see him shirtless._

_Ugh, screw it. _Mel stepped over her pile of clothes and reached out to the curtains, careful not to slide them open too much. Just enough to take a peek, and she was rewarded by the glorious sight of one Joseph Longo doing his daily pushups. She noticed how his lips moved as he counted the amount of times he was able to press his body up and down again. Her eyes lingered over the vein that trailed over his bicep and the way he squeezed his eyes shut with every push.

_Wait. What am I doing? _Mel thought to herself. _I'm being such a creeper staring at him. _She was about to force her stare away from him when another side of her stopped her. _But then again…I am a woman. I appreciate a good body and I can't deny that Joe has one. Plus, it's not like he can magically read my brain and hold every thought against me. I mean, knowing him and his massive ego, he would._

'Mel!' She got pulled out of her train of thought when she heard Ryder's voice through her door and his impatient bonking on the hardwood, and couldn't help but let out a surprised yelp. She quickly let go of her grip on the curtains, they easily slid shut again. 'Ten minutes. I mean it. This is a big deal for me.' Mel rushed to undo herself of her clothes when she heard another pair of footsteps coming into her bedroom.

'Is aunt Mel in there?' It was Lennox.

'Yeah. Did you talk to Joe?'

'Yeah, but I'm not sure if he's going to come. I'm pretty sure he's working out right now.'

Mel heard Ryder heave a sigh. 'Doesn't Joe know how important this is for me? I'm going to go talk to him.'

On the other side of the door, Mel couldn't stop herself from yelling 'no!' as she rushed to unlock the door and swing it open. The surprised looks of the teenagers quickly turned to shock as they all realized that Mel was in nothing but her underwear. 'I'm uh,' she stammered, as her cheeks started to flush and she noticed her nephew shifting his unsettled gaze, 'I'm going to talk to Joe. You kids stay downstairs and wait for us.'

'Okay,' Lennox agreed, noting her aunt's appearance, 'but if I were you, I'd get properly dressed first, or else Joe would jump on you like a horny rabbit.'

Mel frowned. 'Okay, first of all: I don't like you talking like this. And second of all: you really think he would do that?' A proud smile began to form on her lips, and the young girl nodded firmly.

'Definitely. For an old woman, you're doing a good job.' Lennox laughed as she pushed her brother out of the room, avoiding Mel's upset 'hey!' that was followed by a shoe being thrown in her direction.

* * *

_Please be wearing a shirt, please be wearing a shirt, please be wearing a shirt… _Mel repeated in her head as she knocked on Joey's door.

She heard a pair of footsteps coming her way and the doorknob turn. Joey swung the door open and was surprised to find Mel standing in the doorway. He immediately felt uncomfortable because he was not wearing a shirt and he realized that Mel was staring at him.

'Ew. Can you go put on a shirt so I won't have to look at all that?' Melissa pulled herself together before Joe could pester her about the way she was gazing at his chest.

'Oh. Of course.' Joe quickly turned around and Mel couldn't resist biting her lip as she noted that even the muscles on his back and his side got a decent amount of attention during a workout. He slipped on a polo shirt and focused his attention back on Mel, who was still standing in the doorway. 'So…what's up?'

'Well, Ryder's award ceremony is tonight. It would be the world to him if you came.'

'Wait- it's tonight?' Joey questioned, a shocked look on his face. 'I thought it was tomorrow night!'

Mel nodded once and looked away. 'Well, it _was_ going to be tomorrow, but they changed it a week ago. Since when do I keep track of these things? You're usually my agenda when it comes to this household.' Mel offered him a confused and somewhat amused look and Joey shot her back a guilty glance.

'I've been a little caught up with uh, life and all.'

Mel smirked, intrigued. 'Life? What life do you have besides being my nanny?'

'…being a_ freelance manny_.' Joey corrected her, annoyance evident in his tone. 'If you must know, I met a girl last week and we uh, really hit it off. In fact, I asked her out and she said yes.'

'Wow,' Mel was quick to cover up her jealousy by holding up the mask of her Longo disgust, like she always did. 'I can't believe girls fall for massive egos and stubborn know-it-alls.'

'Okay, wow.' Joey cocked his head, a little upset by her choice of words. 'Can't you be happy for me for once? I really like this girl.'

Mel took a moment to scrutinize him, and noticed that he was indeed hurt by her remark, so she sighed. 'I am happy for you, Longo. Sometimes I do see that underneath all that masculinity hides a good guy. And…' she took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to say, 'I'm sure that the girl will consider herself lucky to have a chance with you.'

She avoided his gaze for a few seconds because she knew he was wearing that smug smile of his. 'Well, I didn't know you had it in you to actually give him an_ honest-to-God _compliment, Burke. I really appreciate it.'

'Ugh, you say something nice about me!'

'What?'

'You know how _damn_ hard it was for me to spit those words out? You should now say something nice about me so we can even it out.' Mel reasoned with him, and Joey shook his head in amusement.

'Fine, let me just think of something. Uh…' Joey crossed his arms and took his sweet time to consider her positive sides. He laughed when Mel became impatient and slapped him on the arm. 'Alright, alright! I don't know what kind of compliment you want, so I'm just gonna go ahead and say whatever came to mind first. I think you're very beautiful.'

As much as Mel wanted to say what she would usually say, like 'aw', 'of course I am' and 'I'd tap me every day', she was awed by the way he was looking back at her. She instantly knew that he was telling her nothing but the truth.

'Thank you.' Was the only thing she could say at the time. She found herself lost into his chocolate brown eyes and that's when something happened that she would repress for months- her knees gave way and Joey quickly reached out to grab a hold of her, pulling her close to him so that she wouldn't fall to the floor altogether.

'Whoa! You okay there, Burke?' Joey laughed a little, knowing that Mel would hate herself for being like this.

She allowed herself nothing but a second to feel his heart beat on her face – she could swear that it was beating faster than usually – before she used her hands to push herself away from him, back on her own feet. 'Yeah, it's nothing. I've been walking in heels all day, I guess my legs just got tired of it for like a second.' She waved it off and pulled a repulsive face. 'Uh, just…next time that happens, don't pull me to you, okay?'

'Alright, Mel. Next time your knees give up on you, I'll let you fall.' Joey mocked, hoping in the back of his mind that Mel knew he meant the exact opposite.

'Good.' Mel sighed and straightened out her dress, taking a big step away from him. 'Clean yourself up a little, will you? I want to leave in ten minutes.'

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope you guys liked it. If I get enough reviews, I'll turn it into a multi-chap. I've always just watched Melissa & Joey whenever it happened to be on television, but I only recently started really watching it. I was never sure if I liked these two together, but after the second episode of season 2, I can definitely see Joey having a crush on Mel, and Mel liking Joey and using her snarky comments about him to deceive herself into thinking it's not true. I mean, I can understand why someone wouldn't fall in love with him…but you've got to be blind to be truly repulsed by him. I'd definitely want to snuggle up against that…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! I've wanted to turn this into a multi-chapter story because you've been so awesome. And also I've been obsessed with this pairing (and show) for the past couple of days.**

* * *

'_So when are we going to meet this mystery girl you've been seeing, Joe?'_

_Mel's question caused Joe to nearly choke in his bite of rice and he awkwardly recovered as both Ryder's and Lennox' head jerked to him._

'_You're seeing someone?' 'You have a girlfriend?' The two yelled out in unison._

'_Yes, yes, I'm dating some girl I met at the gym a week ago. It's nothing serious yet.' Joe said, using a napkin to wipe his face and distracting himself from being so uncomfortable._

_Mel couldn't help but smile a little as he informed the kids about the woman in question, and the entire 'relationship' – if that's even a way to call it – was merely something casual and probably nothing would come out of it. Of course, he didn't refrain from telling the kids that relationships were supposed to be with someone you truly cared about and he attempted (but didn't convince Mel) to deceive the kids into thinking that he truly cared about this bimbo._

_Because…of course she had to be a bimbo._

_She's seen the girls Joe has been dating, they've all been the same. Highest education: college. Highest paying job: either waiting tables or working at a callcenter._

_Sometimes she wondered why a highly educated man like Joe would ever consider dating these brainless trophy girls (because most of the girls' goal in life would probably be to be a trophy girl to a wealthy man)._

_She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she missed Joe telling the children when his girlfriend was going to pay them a visit._

* * *

Mel stared at her own reflection in the mirror and decided that she didn't look half-bad. She snagged her purse from the bed and exited her room, hearing Ryder's loud snore from the room next to her and seeing a little bit of light escaping from underneath Lennox' closed door.

She briefly wondered what Joe would be up to at this hour of the day. _Perhaps he went out for a run. He loves running at 6am. _She shrugged him out of her thoughts and started tiptoeing down the stairs, not wanting to wake her nephew up, or letting Lennox know she's awake (and Lennox _always_ had some teenage issue to discuss with her).

She was almost at the bottom of the stairs, when her heart skipped a beat due to the sound of someone exclaiming her name. That someone was not someone she knew.

'Hello!'

Mel Burke, the ever so perky Councilwoman was not someone to easily get scared off by someone being obnoxious and loud, since she couldn't deny the fact that it was one of her personality traits. But, as she liked to say, in her case it was an adorable and lovable kind of perkiness.

'You must be Councilwoman Mel Burke,' a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, rushed over to her, hand outstretched. 'Joseph has told me so much about you. It's an honor to finally meet you.' Even though Mel didn't raise a finger, the woman insisted on shaking hands so she grabbed Mel's free hand and shook it furiously. 'Hi!'

'Hello…' Mel's voice trailed off as she averted her eyes to look at Joe, who was standing safely a few feet away. He just smiled broadly and raised his arms in innocence. 'This is the part where you tell me your name and most importantly, what on earth you're doing in my home!' Mel attempted to cover up her annoyance by matching the woman's enthusiasm.

'Oh! Well, duh!' The woman laughed loudly, smacking a hand against her forehead. 'I'm Tiffy Walters. I'm doing Joe- oh, what am I saying? I'm dating Joe- _dating_! I meant to say 'dating', doi! I'm so silly.' Tiffy spoke so fast, that Mel needed all of her concentration to hear all of their words, but even then, the words sounded like they got tangled up together as they rolled off of her lips.

'Uh, yeah!' Joe noticed that Mel had a hard time listening to Tiffy (or probably just a hard time appreciating Tiffy's existence) so he stepped forward and placed an arm around the woman, who immediately snuggled up on his shoulder. 'This is the girl I was talking about, Burke. Isn't she something?'

'She…sure is a lot…of words!' Mel offered Joe a look of complete and utter surprise. 'But I was on my way to work, so I should go. It's been terrify- I mean, _great_ meeting you, Tiffy.'

'Well, yes, of course. Same goes for me.' Tiffy responded honestly, placing a hand over her chest, which made Mel notice how unbelievably enormous her breasts were. 'I mean, my life is just pretty frickin' awesome right now. Meeting you,' She gestured at Mel (and Mel couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride rising inside of her chest) and then glanced up at Joe, who was still wearing that big, fake smile of his. '…and of course my big, Italian teddy bear!' She poked his cheek with a finger. 'My girls and I just can't get over the fact that I'm dating like the prettiest guy in all of Toledo.'

Mel rolled her eyes and made no attempt to cover that up. Joe obviously had to notice. 'Hey, she's just telling the truth, Burke! I mean, I've seen what walks around here, it's not always pretty.'

'But then you walk in!' Tiffy exclaimed in her perky tone that was really starting to tick Mel off. She took a peek at the clock, and made a little jump. 'Oops! I've got to go pour coffee for mean strangers.' She rushed to the door, but not before clarifying herself. 'I'm a waitress!'

Mel forced a smile out of herself. 'Of course you are, hun!'

* * *

'So…about that meeting you have with the mayor next week, you shouldn't forget to mention-' Stephanie stopped mid-sentence as she noticed Mel wasn't paying any attention whatsoever. Her eyes were staring into space, her face looking puzzled. 'Is there something on your mind?'

'Joe.'

Stephanie was surprised at how easy it was for Mel to admit that Joe was on her mind. Most of the times, Mel denied any thoughts she had about her nanny and if Stephanie ever mentioned something that had to do with her theory of how Mel had feelings for Joe, Stephanie had to fear for her job. 'Oh!' Stephanie sat down on the chair in front of Mel's desk, knowing that she had to take baby steps into this topic of conversation. 'What did Joe do…?'

It took a moment before the question was received. 'I just met the girl he's been seeing. And I can't for the life of me figure out what he sees in that woman. I mean, she's just like a walking piece of sunshine.' The way Mel phrased the sentence didn't at all alarm Stephanie, until Mel continued. 'I mean, a piece of sunshine that burns your skin and if you sit with it for too long.'

Stephanie still didn't have much to go on. She couldn't tell if Mel was worried about Joe getting involved in a doomed relationship, or if she was jealous. 'Who do _you_ think Joe should be with then?'

_Me._

That sudden thought scared her more than anything in the world, and Stephanie shook up a little as she watched her boss twitch in her seat. _Oh, for the love of God, what the hell was that?_

'Mel…' Stephanie began slowly, still careful not to upset her. 'Is Joe happy with her? Because if he is, you must give the woman a chance.'

Mel nodded slowly, knowing that her assistant was right. But still, there was something in her gut that told her this relationship was no good.

* * *

A few hours later, Mel arrived home from a long, exhausting (and confusing) day of work. She's been a bit unable to focus all of her attention at work, dragging her thoughts on Joe Longo in every piece of work she had to do (and mentally kicking herself for it). So it was safe to say that she has been fighting with herself all day.

She flung the back door open to find him standing in the kitchen, preparing dinner. 'Ugh,' she glared at the vegetables, 'please don't say 'salad' for dinner. I'm really not in the mood.'

Joe just grinned at her. 'Evening, Burke. What are you in the mood for then? Chocolate? Candy? Anything that tastes like _rainbows_?' He was obviously making fun of her, but Mel felt too tired to snap back at him. He understood that, so he just gestured her to sit down. 'Speaking of dinner, I invited Tiffy to come join us, hope that's not a problem.'

'Sure, no problem. She must taste like rainbows.' The last sentence was muttered under her breath, so Joe wasn't sure if he heard her correctly.

'What?'

'Nothing. But I can see why you like her.' Mel was already slumped in a chair, and her words matched the way she was sitting on it. 'Oh, Joe, you're so handsome. Your abs are so perfectly accentuated by your tight t-shirts and low cut V-necks.'

He immediately knew where she was going, so he had to put a stop to it. 'Shut it.' Joe grunted.

Mel didn't care for his threat, and just continued. 'Oh, Joe, your smile lights me up with the passion of a thousand suns! Seriously, where do you find these girls? They're like a walking Joe Longo advertisement.' She ignored a thought rising in her head of a Joe Longo advertisement, and added a quick laugh. 'I mean, I wouldn't buy that stuff from the ads, I would just Google the reviews. And the reviews would probably emphasize on the good ol' Longo bragging.'

'Wow.' Joe seemed visibly hurt. He stopped cutting the cucumber and jamming the knife into the wooden cutting board. 'You've got a real knack for hurting my feelings, Burke.' When he noticed her opening her mouth again, he interrupted her by going on. 'I don't care if it makes me sound like a little girl, but I have feelings too.'

Mel realized that Joe really did look upset by her choice of words, so she made a mental note to simmer down on the mocking. 'I guess you're right, sorry. But really, I don't see why you're going out with her. She doesn't really seem to be your type.'

'And just who are you to decide who's my type?' Joe smiled slightly. It was obvious that he has already forgiven her and that they're slipping back into their usual flow of back-and-forth bickering.

'I don't _decide_. But brainless perky dolls don't really strike me as the women who could uh, you know, sweep you off of your feet. Knock you out of your socks, you know what I mean.' Mel avoided Joe's amused glance by sliding herself off the chair. She strolled to the fridge (still not looking at him) and opened it to retrieve a bottle of water.

Joe just picked up his knife and went back to cutting the cucumber, nodding slowly. 'I must admit, you're right, Burke.'

'I am?' she sounded surprised. 'I mean- of course I am.'

'Good recovery.' He chuckled, 'No, I mean, if I do get into a serious relationship again, I'd want it to be the real deal. Someone who I feel I have a real connection with. Someone who-'

'…knows your favorite songs?' Mel suggested.

He grimaced, though she couldn't see it because she was standing behind him, leaning against the counter as she took a small sip of her bottle of water.

'Yeah. Someone who knows my favorite songs. And someone who-'

'…takes you seriously despite you being a nanny and all?'

'Yeah, yeah, stop interrupting me!' Joe quickly spoke up, hearing Mel laugh behind his back, though they both knew that she was right. The knife he was holding easily slit through the green vegetable, and it collided with the wood a few times before Joe broke the silence again. 'I guess I don't mind dating a few beautiful ladies before the so called_ right person_ comes along.'

'Oh, well.' Mel put her bottle of water on the counter, and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Maybe the right person won't have to _come along_. Maybe she's already in your life.'

Joe fell silent, and Mel eyed him closely before going on.

'Maybe it's that lady from the drug store who keeps looking at you every time you go there to buy my tampons. Or that lady from a few blocks away who insists on greeting you when you're running.'

Joe frowned in disbelief, annoyed at how easily she could turn a serious moment around. 'Aw, come on, that lady's gotta be in her 60's! Y'know what? More salad for you.' He pointed a long finger at her upon his threat and assured her that he was not kidding around.

* * *

**Author's Note: I find the lack of Lennox and Ryder in this chapter mildly disappointing, so I'll try my best at changing that in the next couple of chapters. I'll also be dealing with why Joe is dating Tiffy and if he's really in love with her or not. By the way, did you guys read the episode description of the Melissa & Joey season finale? I won't ruin anything if you didn't, but yay!  
**


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